As Hurricane Michael, a strong Category 4 storm, took aim at Florida's Panhandle last Wednesday, firefighters from the Bartow County and Cartersville fire departments were staging in southwest Georgia, ready to help local departments attend the destruction left behind.
Michael, its 155 mph winds only two miles per hour below the threshold of a Category 5 storm, slammed into Mexico Beach, completely demolishing most of the buildings in the small, quaint beach town. It moved quickly into south Georgia still packing winds of 125 and higher.
When the storm finally passed, the Bartow County first responders were awed by the extent of the damage.
"There were trees everywhere," Cartersville Battalion Chief Tim McClung said. "I didn't see a lot of badly damaged homes, but the roads were impassable. Everywhere you looked there were trees. A situation like this can overwhelm a small department."